Flirty Neighbor
by Katreda
Summary: Atoli hated both her school and her parents and wished she could change her life, but she will regret her wish. Now all alone in a new city, she will try to survive, and a certain flirty gamer will help her at that. AtolixKuhn and some HaseoxAtoli. Some!
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to this page! I've started playing Dot hack G.U. once again lately and driven by an unreasonable force, I scouted for fics with Kuhn, and... What? What did I see? The lack of contents on the page startled me. There was only two fics, two lonely fics on that white page! I decided to add some diversity to it, I made it my mission!

I do not own Dot Hack//whatever. Y'know, I never read a fic that goes like 'hey, I own it'. That'd be weird :D

Summary: Atoli hated both her school and her parents and wished she could change her life, but after saving the Lost Ones, she will regret her wish. Now all alone in a new city, she will try to survive, and a certain flirty gamer will help her at that.

Chapter one

I hate school. Those long white corridors… they make me sick. Whenever I am walking through it, I get laughed at by the kids hanging there. They pick on me, the easy target. I always become unable to defend myself against their vicious attacks and I shut down completely, faking nonchalance to shield myself from them. But why do they do that to me? What's wrong with me not liking popular TV shows? Is it a sin, not to know the latest fashion, to be a calm student, to be so submissive…? Because I'm unlike the average teenager, then do they have to eliminate me? Why can't we get along together, sharing our many hobbies and interests?! I'm human too, after all. We can't be all too different.

I guess they don't see it that way. They still despise me. So, I came to the conclusion that maybe I'm not really normal. Almost as if I wasn't human. Logic would remind me of the lack of sense in that. Watching myself in a mirror, it is obvious that I really come from this planet. I possess all limbs required. My skin is hairless, except for a few exceptions. My brown eyes reflected in the glass inform me of my human nature. Yet, inside me, I don't feel like I'm one. They made me feel this way. I wished I could be one of them, be part of the group. What is sadder than to be the only one of a kind, after all? It is human nature to group together with people alike.

I tried dressing like them. I listened to their music, read their magazines. For a brief moment, I even began feeling good. But then…

I also hate home. It wasn't always the case, just as I didn't always hate school. It's just… my dad… I-I love my parents, really, I do! But when I wanted to become like the other kids, my parents stopped me. My dad yelled at me, while Mom just sat next to him, silently, without intervening. We were around the table, in the kitchen, an envelope with the school name on it ripped open. My bad grades were out in the open. I fearfully look at them, apprehending the moment and thinking "I reached their limit."

To my father, this sudden change in my behaviour was inappropriate of a girl from a good family. Girls weren't supposed to dress so provocatively, to stand out from the crowd. He pointed my clothes accusingly, words flying out of his mouth disgracefully. Who in their right mind would wear that? Good girls wore dresses, long, flowing skirts. His speech slowly switched from my inappropriate appearance to my notes. Why were my grades going down? What was I doing all this time? While I spent time reading those filthy, teenager magazines, my studies suffered. If I kept this up, I would fail to live honourably, and with the attitude that I was showing, I wouldn't even be able to rely on a good husband to support me.

Dad hit the table with his fist. I startled, along with Mom. We both shut our eyes, but never did she tell him to calm down. He shouted to me to go back to my room, which I did, without a word. After the door was closed and locked, I removed one by one my new, last fashioned clothes and put on something more 'appropriate', more to my father's tastes. My other clothes replaced carefully in my wardrobe, I sat in front of my computer.

At school, students keep reminding me how un-cool I am. No matter what I do, no matter what I wear, I always remain the girl that they don't want to hang out with. I try, and I try so much, but nobody looks at me.

At home, my parents disapprove my behaviour. They want a quiet daughter, one that will respect their morale, one that will only look pretty and kind, a doll. No matter what I do, I always disappoint them; I always remain a failure in their eyes. I try, and I try so much, but they don't look at me.

No one really see what I am. Nobody cares to know what I really want. I'm not sure of what I want, anyway. I'm not sure what to do. There's just this feeling growing each day inside me. I want to get away from all this. If only... everything could disappear. Why can't people just leave me alone? I can't meet anyone expectations after all. What can a teenager like me do, when she feels more hostility than love towards her parents? Where to hide if all the places she usually went did not welcome her anymore?

I sometimes wish that they could all go away, so I can never them again, but that's never going to happen. I'm stuck in this situation for at least a few years still.

Fortunately, there is one world where some people wait for me, people with good ideals, and people with compassion. And as long as this world exists, I'll be able to bear the reality. Long enough for me to move out of this house, to a place where I'll never see my schoolmates or my parents again.

Ever.

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A hand dove into the metal letter box labelled "Kusaka", searching for envelops. Finding none, the person quickly closed it and walked at a quick pace toward the door, eager to get inside.

Chigusa (1) came in, trying to hide the excitement that accompanied all day long from her mother, because today would be the Day. A day for a new world, a day to correct the mistakes she has done through the last months. She wasn't the same old Atoli anymore, who used to cry on her poor little self. No, someone very dear to her showed her the way towards forgiveness and she would try her best to succeed, by being next him. Haseo could count on her now.

It didn't mean that she wasn't scared, though. AIDA has proven many times to react violently. She has tasted firsthand just how truly dangerous the virus really was. What she was about to do tonight could put her into a coma, and the very thought sent a chill down her bones. The few times that she lost consciousness spooked her. However, she couldn't let everyone down.

In that state, she called out for her mother in a tone that seemed rather normal. No one answered her back and after taking her shoes off, Chigusa ventured into the kitchen. A note on the fridge informed her that her mother went out shopping and that both her and her father wouldn't be back before a while. Typical.

The young girl would usually feel alone in this house, but she was overjoyed this time. She could go into The World without having to worry about her parents bothering her. It was the last thing that she needed today, especially with the fight coming. With that, Chigusa literally ran to her bedroom and turned the computer off. While her PC began to run, she made a sprint to the kitchen, grabbed something to drink, and came back. There was no time to waste on cooking.

The M2D installed, she launched the game. In a moment, she became a blonde cleric, ready to save the world.

It was hours later when she finally placed the goggles down on the desk, shaking. It had been so difficult to part with everyone, even though she knew that they would all meet again tomorrow. They won the fight, but it didn't mean their friendship was over yet. Or so she kept repeating herself. After all, if Shino regained consciousness, maybe Haseo... No! No, he would keep talking to her. This was not the time to get depressed. They beat AIDA, after all!

The odd silence inside the house suddenly hit her. A quick glance to the computer alarmed her. Two in the morning! She never looked at the time throughout the fight, too involved into what was going on. Her stomach chose that particular time to manifest its hunger also. Chigusa grabbed that drink she had brought earlier. Its warmth made her wince and she decided that a trip to the kitchen wouldn't be so bad. She tiptoed to the wardrobe, picked a pyjama and carefully changed her clothes. She messed her hair a little to make it look like she has been asleep and undid her bed. Her parents would kill her if they knew she has been playing for so long.

In fact, it was strange that they didn't talk to her at all since they came back. They would usually drop in, to make sure that she wasn't just playing games, much to her annoyance. The World was still the only place that she felt comfortable in. If they took that away, she didn't know what she would do.

Nothing in the fridge really tempted her and at this time of the night, she couldn't very well start cooking, so she finally settled for a yogurt. The teenager settled down at the counter, and recalled the fight. It was a good thing that it was Sunday because she wouldn't be able to fall asleep before a while. She could still feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins and her heart pumping loudly in her chest. Knowing her mother, she would wake her daughter early in the morning for the house chores.

At the very thought of that, she groaned. Her mother never let her sleep the morning away. She had to write her a note, saying that she felt sick or something. Then, maybe she would have a chance... Chigusa finished her snack and looked for the notepad. The kitchen light fell on her shoes in the hall and for the first time, noticed that her parents' weren't there. Now, that was certainly strange. Why would they...

Forgetting her task, the young girl climbed the stairs in a hurry, fear gnawing her insides. In front of her parents' bedroom, she paused a moment, then quietly opened the door. Her eyes knew where to look for, but the darkness made it impossible for her to distinguish any forms, and flipping the light open would be a very big mistake.

She closed the door carefully and sighed. She was imagining all kind of the things again. It was raining outside. Her parents would often leave their shoes in the bathtub when they were wet. If only she stopped worrying for a moment...

Someone knocked at the entrance.

It was so unexpected that at first, she thought she imagined it, but when it knocked a second time, Chigusa gasped and hurried to the first floor. Who is bothering them so late? It was downright impolite.

She hesitantly opened the door by a creek and answered. She opened the door wider when she noticed the man at the door. "Y-yes?"

"Hello. My name is Suou Matsuda, from the police department. Can I please have your name, ma'am?"

The police? Did something happen in the neighbourhood? "Y-yes, I am Chigusa Kusaka... Would you like to speak to my father, sir? I will wake him up..."

"No, please stay here. I have something important to tell you. Your parents were involved in a car accident five hours ago and..."

She never felt lonelier than at this very moment.

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(1)According to Dot hack Wikipedia (thanks, wiki!), the player behind Atoli is Chigusa Kusaka. Believe it or not, I hesitated when I came to write down Atoli's real first name. I wasn't sure which name was which. Chigusa seems a logical choice, I guess...

The chapter's kind of short, but I felt it'd be better to start Atoli's new life in another chapter. Things will get more interesting next time (well, to my opinion).

Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

If you read this, then it means that you are interested enough by this fanfic! Either that, or you're incredibly bored and got nothing else to do. Thank you for staying! In this second chapter, I should introduce Kuhn in the story.

Chapter 2

The fragility of life caught her by surprise. Despite the people that had become Lost Ones or the paralysis in her arm that should have made her more aware of the dangers of her surroundings, she never would have thought that her own parents would be struck by misfortune. Why them?

Chigusa stared at the scenery by the window next to her in the car taking her to her first apartment. Why?

Barely a year ago, she would have thrown her own life away, was it not for Sakaki. Days after her epitath awakened, courtesy of the second unit leader of Moon Tree, the question just kept replaying in her head. Where was the Sakaki who saved her life? Why did he bother responding to her cries for help? Nowadays, she wondered if her parents would have been in that car accident if she had committed suicide back then. Surely not.

Why them of all people? Certainly, they did not deserve this. Her father didn't steal or lie. Her mother cared enough for her daughter and husband. Accidents happen, said her aunt, simple as that. People are carried away by illness, hunger, wars, and in her parents' case, by wrong choices.

Alcohol took her family away. The policeman explained to Chigusa, that night, that her father had a high percentage of alcohol in his blood. Of course, he was the one driving that night. He wouldn't have let his wife do it, for once, she now thought with bitterness. Witnesses said that the driver ignored the red light, and on the contrary, sped. Fortunately, the passengers in the other car survived, by some miracle, but why that fortune didn't extend itself to her parents, she didn't know.

It felt so surreal. Confronted to her lack of reaction, the policeman brought her inside the house, to the kitchen. The shaken girl let him take care of her. A cup of coffee soon appeared in front of her. She was surprised to see another cop in the room, a female one. They spoke to her gently, yet firmly. Did she have any siblings?

No. She was a single child.

Did her parents have family? Slowly, her brain functioned. There was this uncle, her father's brother. He lived quite far away from the Chiba prefecture, though, and they saw each other only twice each year. They could find his phone number in the first drawer.

Was there a friend she could go to for the night? No, she didn't have any friends...

Hours flew by and Chigusa somehow found herself awakening in her bed. She looked for the alarm clock without really looking, groggy. She brought it to her face and stared at the little red numbers. Four o'clock in the afternoon. The curtain at the window was pulled, but a little sunshine managed to light her room anyway.

With some effort, she extirpated from her bed and put on some clothes. Walking down the stairs to the first floor, she came face to face with a woman vaguely familiar. Oh, right, her uncle's wife. The woman grabbed her hands and pulled her into an embrace. "Oh, Chigusa, I can't believe it!"

Those little words were all it took for the teenager to remember what happened and to realise that her parents weren't coming back. Her eyes fell on that note on the fridge. "Later, Chigusa! Love, Mom."

Why?!

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Chigusa stared outside the window of the car, lost in thoughts.

After that, things changed so fast that and yet Chigusa still felt distant from all of it, somehow. Her uncle, along with his wife, had taken of most of things, much to her relief. She would not have known where to start anyway. However... she had a hard time adjusting to all those changes, although she never complained. A good girl didn't complain.

They first told her that she couldn't stay there anymore. The trip from Kanazawa was already long and tedious and they couldn't check up with her often enough. So, a few days after the burial, Atoli found herself on the train, along with her relatives. She came back to school only once, to meet with her teacher and arrange her schedule at her new school. The same students who laughed at her the last time Chigusa was at school now pointed her and whispered. The others gasped, gazed at her in pity, or on the contrary, smirked in satisfaction. Despite their reaction, Chigusa didn't want to leave this place. A few months ago, she would have abandoned everything without a second thought. Maybe she was only afraid of leaving the security of this familiar building.

The taxi stopped finally reached its destination. The man turned his head towards and called out. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Oh?" Chigusa blinked and finally noticed that the vehicle had stopped moving. "Oh, sorry! How much do I own you?"

The driver politely took the money and exited the car, followed by the teenager. He grabbed the two heavy suitcases in the back and let them on the pavement. Chigusa glanced at the building, feeling despair reaching her heart for the umpteenth time in the last month. She never saw the apartment that her uncle found for her. After living with the Kusaka family for two weeks, the man told her that he had found a small apartment near from her new school. It was already furnished, and she wouldn't have to worry about the rent as long as she was minor, since her uncle was the designated person for her heritage. Her thanks were maybe a little too exaggerated, but they couldn't blame her; their household couldn't take in another person. Her aunt kindly made her some place in her son's room, but he was still young, and certainly not as caring as Chigusa. The girl was pretty much allowed in the room to sleep only. When he wasn't at school, her cousin spent his time at his computer, chasing away any intruders out of his room.

"Are you going to be alright with the suitcases? You have a lot of stuff in there, y'know..."

Chigusa smiled apologetically at the man. "Sorry for the trouble, sir. I'll be fine."

"Alright. Good day."

Chigusa stared at the decrepit building. "Just fine..." She already missed her home. Grabbing her luggage, she began making her way towards the stairs, wincing at the weight of her things. Her uncle has been the one to take them to the taxi, so she never had to carry them before. If the taxi driver thought they were heavy, then why didn't she assume before that they wouldn't be heavier for her?

According to the indication left by her uncle, her apartment should be on the third floor. Reluctantly, Chigusa began making her way up, stopping now and then to take her breath. She repeated like a mantra the same words that she told herself for the past month. _I can do it. I'm strong now. I'll survive alone! _

If there was one thing that Haseo has taught her, it was surely that you can't lose your time crying. Crying wouldn't bring her parents back. She was on her own now. Yet, she still wished that her father would be there to take the luggage for her, like he would do whenever something was too heavy for her...

The luggage to her left suddenly became much lighter and the girl frowned, before turning back. A young man stood right behind her, the load in his hand. "I'm sorry! I'll make some space so you can go ahead..." she quickly apologised.

"Huh? No, that's alright. I just wanted to help out. They seem quite a burden for such a delicate girl like you." He replied smoothly, winking.

_Did he just...?_"I, um, thanks..." Chigusa managed to say. The stranger grabbed the second luggage and effortlessly climbed the remaining stairs. "So, where can I take you, beautiful?"

"Huh, I, huh, live at the apartment #307. Is that too far...?"

He turned his head toward her, grinning. "Not at all. Looks like you're my new neighbour, and I'm definitely lucky to have you next to me!"

This time, Chigusa couldn't help but blush at his compliment. She didn't know whether to be flattered or embarrassed by his straightforward way. She knew only too well that some old men and not too respectable people liked to tell her such things, but it was the first that she heard them from a young man. He had a normal look about him, looked like in his twenties. His contagious smile made him less scary then the others, but Chigusa had to tell herself that it didn't mean anything. After all, how many girls thought that their neighbour was the most helpful persons in the world, and the next thing they knew, they were being abused by him?

They continued their way in silence and arrived at the door a moment later. He rubbed his neck and chuckled. "Sorry if I scared you. I didn't mean to."

"No, I wasn't... I'm the one who's sorry. After all, you carried my luggage all the way up here and I treated you this way."

"What, are you kidding? You didn't do anything wrong! Anyway, we were going in the same direction, so I didn't mind helping out. I just wanted to show how strong I was!" He winked once again and Chigusa giggled. "Well, then..." she began.

The man nodded and searched in his pocket, taking out a set of keys. "Yeah, you must have a lot of things to do, since you just moved. Well, welcome here, beautiful. I hope you'll like it."

Chigusa smiled sincerely for the first time in ages. "I hope too." With that, the man unlocked the door and went inside, and she imitated him. The key gave her some difficulties, but the lock finally turned gave in and she was able to enter her new home.

A nasty smell immediately greeted her inside, making her wince. "What in the world is that?" It wasn't really strong, but certainly not pleasant either. She quickly surveyed the place, abandoning the luggage on the floor. The kitchen and the living room were in the same room, an old gray couch delimiting the spaces. The counters seemed very old fashioned and not taken good care of; the paint started to come off at some places. The walls were dulling white, awfully depressing. Chigusa willed herself to move. The pantry, also outmoded like the rest of the furniture, was thankfully filled with food. She also found some plates, cauldrons and the necessities in a house. Some things were missing, of course, since she liked to cook a lot, but she'd find a way around it. There was no choice, since she'd probably be tight around money now.

Chigusa glanced in the bathroom. There was barely any place to walk around in there, unlike the bathroom back at her home. The toilet, along with the sink, faced the bathtub with just enough space to walk – one person at the time, of course. The second and last door gave to the bedroom that was plunged into darkness. The whole apartment, despite the white paint, seemed lifeless. It wasn't home at all.

The girl sat down on the single bed and curled on the mattress. The most important thing to her right was nowhere in sight. Chigusa absolutely needed a computer. She wasn't addicted to the net, mind you. However, the last time she logged on the net was, well... the night her parents died.

It has been more than a month now, and she knew, or at least hoped, that Haseo was worried about her, along with everyone else. You'd think that with the net more accessible than ever, she would have found a way to contact him, but the occasion never presented itself. The first days, she was so out of it that contacting her friends in The World never crossed her mind, and when she finally snapped out of it, it was too late. She had already moved, and the computer had been left behind, like everything else. Even when she begged her cousin, he never let her use it, and using the internet for personal purpose was, unfortunately for Chigusa, prohibited at school. She didn't even own a cell phone until recently, and the model didn't let her have access at the net.

She missed being Atoli. She longed to see her gentle figure and to hear her name being called out. When Atoli was logged in, Chigusa's problems seemed to fade away, like a very bad nightmare. She didn't think about her strict parents, nor the bullying at school. There was only the harvest cleric spreading her ideals, or following Haseo around. Here, in this estranged place, Atoli didn't exist. There was nothing familiar that Chigusa could hang on to. Up here in this small apart in Kanazawa, she never felt lonelier.

Chigusa let the tears roll on her cheeks, the sobs come out freely. If only she didn't wish such a horrible thing...

On the other side of the wall, the young man frowned.

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Um, and here I thought that it would start looking better for Atoli :D I felt like I should explain more Atoli's situation, before really going in with the story. By the way, I noticed that whenever I talk about Atoli, I use her real name, Chigusa. Is that annoying or confusing for you? It feels like I'm writing on another character and yet, it's important to divide the character from the player. What's your opinion?


	3. Chapter 3

I'm not entirely sure how to go forward with the fic. I have some ideas written down, so it's not so bad.

Flirty neighbour

Chapter 3

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The wind blew strong, chasing away the clouds that had dared deny the townspeople of the sunshine and by the same occasion, made a teenager's hat fly away. Chigusa gasped, but couldn't let go of her grocery bags and instead, ran after it.

"Wait up, now! No, no, no, stay there!" Despite her pleas, the inanimate object ignored her and continued its way on the sidewalk. Its course was stopped by an elderly woman who stepped on it without noticing and dragged it in a puddle. Despite its poor state, Chigusa retrieved the hat, relieved, and sighed. Things weren't going very well lately, but she still managed to make it every day.

Ten days has gone by, and she was already getting used to her small apart that didn't smell weird anymore. It turned out that it had been a while since anyone aired the place and as soon as she opened a window, the odour disappeared.

Living alone wasn't as bad as it sounded at first. Maybe she was already prepared for this life. After all, she used to clean a lot around the house and cook for herself since her parents were often absent. She found it boring, though. Her school life didn't cause her trouble, or at least not in the same way. Students didn't pick on her yet. In fact, they ignored her simply after the third day, which was quite a bother. Being bullied was stressful, but having no one to talk to was lonely, and lonely she was.

Her week resumed to this: school, the grocery, homework and television. The daily routine was already beginning to kill her. She still hasn't found a way to contact Haseo or the others and it worried her. It was even more difficult now that the world just avoided a Third Network Crisis. The only online cafe that she had found has closed its door a few days before their fight against the anti-existence, Cubia, due to the sudden abandon of many online games players. In the newspapers, CC Corp. was heavily blamed for all the problems caused, and they were throwing the blame on Ovan, a hacker, or so they claimed.

It has been six weeks now since that day. What did Haseo think? That she just quit once everything was over? Atoli would never do that! With everything they've been through, she couldn't just abandon.

_Where are you, Haseo?_ Couldn't Pi or Yata find her real life information? She has thought about it this week, but without anyone to confirm her theories, it was fruitless musing. Or maybe Haseo has forgotten about her, if Shino has woken up. She must have, since all the other victims did... No! No, she couldn't think such things. No...

Chigusa arrived in front of the building where she resided and began climbing the stairs painfully, aware of the fabric bags digging in her skin. She felt so tired lately. Of course, her depressed thoughts would have something to do about it. She often ended up going to bed early, crying in her pillows, only to wake up in the middle night, a scream dying to cross her lips, only to be swallowed back in her throat. The quietness of the apart accented her fear, letting her imagination replay the nightmare in her head and manipulate its content to something more and more vile.

Only one thing let her spend the remaining hours of the night sleeping. Everytime, she would imagine someone's hand reaching out for hers, a friend's and most of the time Haseo's or Kuhn's, and she would fall back into the mattress, less afraid than the minute before.

She was used to seek for Haseo's image to calm herself. She had done it a few times before her parents passed away. He always had this soothing presence that made her feel stronger, more sure of herself, but it was surprising to dream about Kuhn almost as often as she would dream about Haseo. She still remembered Pi warning her against Kuhn's flirty attitude, to which she has responded by laughing. Whenever Kuhn would stop the conversation abruptly to run after a female character, Silabus and Gaspard said that it was Kuhn's illness manifesting. Atoli made the mistake, once, to tell Haseo that Kuhn was a very sweet man. The comment has earned her another scowl from the Terror of Death, but inside, she believed it. Sure, he wasn't serious with any women he hangs out with, but Kuhn cared for people in a touching way. He is someone who cannot bear some injustices and isn't afraid to make it known.

Then again, maybe she idealised him too much. Her dreams only sent her the message that she needed comfort and unfortunately, she wasn't getting it. Neither from Haseo nor Kuhn, who were both inaccessible. What she would give to see one of her friends, though...

Once in the apart, Chigusa immediately turned the radio on. The music, she had discovered, made up a little for not having her birds anymore and she hummed while storing away the food. Here another thing that was difficult to accept. When she left her home, she had figured her birds would soon follow, but when she asked her aunt about it, the adult said that they sold it to the pet shop nearby. Who was talking and petting them every day now? Wouldn't they be lonely, without her? Again, no one could answer, she would never know. Not knowing anything irritated her. Her whole existence seemed unsure.

Her homework waited for her, she knew, but a hint of despair put a lump in her throat and she walked instead to the bathroom, opting for a shower. It's not like she had anything else to do, right?

She sat on the edge of the tube and turned the tap toward the red arrow, before pulling it toward her. On a normal situation, the next step would have been to pull the stemup so that the water came out of the shower head (1). This time, however, the hot water burst out of the wall, soaking the girl wet.

Chigusa brought her hands to her face, blocking the jet of water. Noticing it was getting boiling hot rather than warm, she managed to turn the tap to cool, before pushing it. She expected the water to stop gushing out, but the action had no effect at all. Moreover, her bathtub was filling at an extreme speed and threatened to flood the floor any minute now.

"Oh no, no, no, please no!" she pleaded. "What am I going to do? I don't know how to fix this!" Panicked, she grabbed a few towels and threw them on the bathroom floor, but Chigusa had to admit that she had a stupid reaction. What could a few towel do to stop that much water?

_I have to do something! Who can fix this?_ She ran out of the room to her school bag lying next to the table and picked her cell phone. She hit the buttons rapidly, looking for the landlord's phone number. Finding nothing, she bit her lower lip. Of course, her uncle had to forget to give such an important number! She looked back at the bathroom and saw the water coming out , heading for her very absorbing couch!

A shadow caught her eye and she turned around again, seeing her neighbour passing in front of her apart. She only saw him once, on her first day here, but she would recognise his face anywhere, especially in a situation like this!

She wasted no time and opened her front door so abruptly that her neighbour looked up to see what was going on. He had a puzzled look on his face, but then again, she figured that he didn't see a girl in a soaked school uniform every day.

The man took the key out of the doorknob and put it back in his pockets hesitantly, before smiling widely,_eyeing her head to toe_. "Hey there, beautiful! What can I do for you?" Her uniform stuck to her body in a nice way, revealing all the curves at the right places. Unfortunately for him, the teenager was in no state to notice his flirting.

"The tapbroke in the bathroom and the water's flooding the apart!" Chigusa cried out. A breeze blew by and she brought her arms around her, shivering.

The man immediately forgot about his previous thoughts. "What? Come on, show me." Chigusa led him inside, wincing at the damage being done to her place. Her neighbour passed by her, to the bathroom and came out of it a few seconds later. "Man, this is bad. Have you called the ?" (2)

She didn't know whoever he was talking about, but she guessed that it was the landlord. "No. I don't have his phone number yet."

The man picked his cell from a pocket and handed it to her. "Look into the contact list and explain to him what's going on. I'll be back in a minute!" With that, he took off, leaving the distressed girl behind. She looked at the cell apprehensively. The model was foreign to her, since she never had a cell before coming here to begin with, but she began clicking, determined to find the number. A familiar icon showed up, followed by the list. She quickly found what she was looking for and dialled.

Meanwhile, her neighbour came back with a toolbox and headed for the bathroom. Someone at the other end of the line answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, may I speak to please?" She explained to him what happened and the man assured that he would come as quickly as possible. Once the conversation was over, Chigusa stood in the kitchen awkwardly. She could hear some noises coming from the bathroom, but no water running. Did it mean that her neighbour managed to stop the flow?

With that hopeful thought, she approached the room and peeked her head inside. "... How is it?" she asked him shyly.

He put down the tool in hand and swiped his forehead. "I managed to stop the flow, but the landlord will have to repair the pipes. The building is really old, so it's no surprise that it broke. Where is the floor cloth (3)? The water must've infiltrated into the floor to the apartments on the floor below. We have to clean this right away."

"Whaaaat?!" She felt bad for asking her neighbour to help her to start with, but she didn't expect this incident to affect other people as well. She bolted toward the kitchen, grabbed the floor cloth and a bucket. When she came back, the young man had already used some towels. One of them was on the floor while he twisted the other one in the bathtub. He smiled sheepishly at her. "I hope you don't mind."

She shook her head vigorously. "No, not at all! I'm the one who should thank you, sir!" she said, wincing despite herself at their wet clothes. She suddenly became more aware of her look, but ignored her discomfort and worked on cleaning. They had to hurry to limit the damage done to the neighbours as well.

"Just call me Tomonari. It wouldn't make me feel so old compared to you." He added with a wink."

"N-n-n-no-no, you're not, you're not old at all!" Chigusa stammered at first, until she saw Tomonari grinning at her. He seemed so laidback and handsome with this expression on his face and- wait. Did she think... Handsome? No way! She blushed in embarrassment and turned her attention back to her task. "W-well, call me Chigusa then!" she blurted, ashamed of her 'smooth recovery'.

She could feel him eyeing her for a moment, but refused to look up at him. If she did, she would catch him staring and something told her that it wouldn't bother him at all, while she would feel even more uncomfortable.

"No."

She frowned at his response. "Sorry?"

"I'll keep calling you Beautiful 'cause that's what you are." There it was again, that malicious look in his eyes, charming and cockyat the same time. Before she had a chance to protest, someone knocked on the door urgently and she gladly left the bathroom. What could she answer to such a comment? Especially if it her heart fluttered at it.

She opened the door and found two men. The oldest muttered a greeting before coming. The other one nodded at her and came in, carrying behind him a heavy toolbox.

Tomonari came out casually, running a hand into his messy hair. "Hey, . Glad you came. It's a real mess in here."

The man with the toolbox entered the small room. "Did you repair it yourself, boy? You did a good job."

The three men then got into a discussion, losing Chigusa. She just pulled a chair and sat down, answering her landlord's questions once in a while. The whole event had worn her out now and she just wished they would repair this quickly so she could change into a dry set of clothes. A glance at her couch added more to her worries. Since it had no legs, it absorbed all the water. This couldn't be good at all. The only good side she could see was that it stopped the flood from getting to her kitchen, at least. Her bedroom's door was closed, but she guessed the water must've gotten it too.

Coincidently, Tomonari must've thought the same thing. "Chigusa, did you look in your bedroom? It's pretty close to the bathroom."

She sprung out of the chair and joined him. The look on the landlord's face scared her, but she had to look. Once the door open, she let out a sigh of relief. Tomonari peeked inside and nodded. "There's water, but your furniture seems fine, unlike your couch."

, however, wasn't relieved by this. "What are you waiting for? You have to clean this before it damages the floor." He ordered, handing her the mope. She stuttered an apology and got to work, holding back her sadness. Tomonari left a moment and came back with towels that she has never seen before. Noticing her curiosity, he filled her in. "It's mine. Yours are all used at this point."

It took only a few minutes before they were done. When they came out, she winced at the sight in her bathroom. The plumber, she guessed he was, had made a few holes in her walls to look at the pipes. The room was fairly disgusting now.

The landlord, after talking with the plumber, turned to her. "My man here will come back tomorrow to finish the repairs during the day. I'll come and repair the wall later on. For now, don't touch the shower, understand? Well, I'm off then."

Tomonari scowled. "Wait, what about her couch? It's ruined!" Chigusa looked at her neighbour, surprised that he defended her.

The grumpy man looked at the furniture. "It's not my problem."

"What? The pipes in this building are so old that it's a wonder that it didn't break before! It's your fault for not taking care of-" Chigusa put her hand on his arm and shook her head, before addressing . "Thank you for coming, sir."

The young man shut his lips and waited until the two others left, before turning to Chigusa. "Why did you say that? You know that you'll have to throw out the couch now."

He was clearly upset and she felt very bad about it, but she didn't want him to be on wrong terms with the landlord because of her. "I know, but it doesn't matter to me. He probably has a really bad day, there's no need to add oil on the fire."

"And you're not having a bad one?" He asked seriously. Now she felt extremely guilty. Maybe he was right and she should've let him argue with the landlord instead of stepping in, after all he did. He obviously knew more than she did...

Her day has been a mess, it was true. The whole month has been difficult. It was like problems just kept piling on one another lately. She looked down at the floor, too ashamed to add anything.

Chigusa gasped when she felt a hand under her chin and she looked up to the man in front of her. He smiled warmly, all traces of anger disappeared. "Hey, don't worry, beautiful. It's not such a big deal, right?"

She stepped back so he wouldn't feel the heat of her face. "Yes! Things will be fine!" Tomonari stared at her again, making her nervous, and she tried to avoid his gaze. "Oh my, it's late!"

He didn't even turn his head toward the clock, maybe because he didn't know where it was, Chigusa thought. Instead, he just kept smiling. She wondered if he did that on purpose, as if he knew what effect he had on her, but he finally nodded and stretched his arms. "I'll go back then. I got things to take care of."

He grabbed his own toolbox and the wet towel and Chigusa walked him to his door and bowed. "Thank you for your help today. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"T'was nothing. I'm glad that I got here just in time." He grinned and opened the door of his apart. "See you later, beautiful."

She finally snapped. "It's Chigusa!" But he had already gotten in. She went back inside and headed for her bedroom to change her clothes. _Why was he grinning again? Maybe he had a dirty thought... Eh! No, he couldn't..._ She stared at her reflection in the mirror. _He can't think that I'm attractive..._

_I'll keep calling you Beautiful 'cause that's what you are._ Her day wasn't so bad as the others, she decided.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

(1)I'm not sure if the readers will understand this...

(2)I was looking for a Japanese family name and I could only come up with names from Ouran High School Host Club. Don't blame me!

(3) Again, I'm not sure if it was the right word.

The chapter's finally over! It took me forever! Sorry, it's my own fault. I have the Sims 3 on my computer and when I'm bored, I tend to play this game instead of writing. I'll work hard to finish this story! Next chapter will be fun (if it goes as I imagine it). I have to warn you also that there might be some kind of 'love' triangle between Kuhn, Atoli and Haseo. I realised that Atoli's affection for Haseo is rather obvious, so I'll have to work something out.

Thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, a few people are genuinely interested in this fic. Thank you for supporting my work!

Flirty neighbour

Chapter 4

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A week after the plumber came to change the pipes, Chigusa was starting to think that her neighbour Tomonari had good reasons to be angry against the landlord; the man hasn't even called yet. He has said that he would come within the week, yet she hasn't heard a word from him. She had called her uncle to tell him about the incident and by the same occasion, noted down 's phone number. Both her and her uncle had left messages, but either he was too busy to call back, or as Chigusa suspected, he didn't care much. She was getting tired of using the sink to wash her body and her hair.

Unfortunately, her couch had gone straight to the garbage after that, with the help of her uncle and aunt. Her relatives weren't happy about it, even less when she told them that the landlord said that he wouldn't replace the couch.

"I can't believe he said that! It's his couch, for crying out loud!" Her uncle pointed out, almost knocking his tea in the process. His wife shook her head in response. "Well, we can't do anything about it, honey. After all, it's not the most necessary object in here. Don't worry, Chigusa, we'll find you something so you can watch the television. It's not really comfortable watching from the kitchen" she told her niece, while staring at the empty living room. The only object breaking the monotony of the white wall, the television, stood between the bedroom and the bathroom, lonely without a couch to fit.

"What?! That man is going to replace the couch himself; I'll see to it!"

In the end, her aunt found a futon given by a friend that they brought today. The metal structure of the futon elevated it from the floor, Chigusa noticed. Too bad she didn't have this couch before the incident. Her uncle swiped the sweat off his forehead as he finished placing the futon in the living room. "Alright, as soon as calls, you tell me! I want to be there when he'll repair those holes in the wall. I'll make sure that he also signs on the leasethat the couch is yours now! Hmph!"

Chigusa nodded with energy, happy that her family was on her side, for once. Her uncle's stubbornness reminded her of her father and it was no surprise that they both worked in sales. Those two used to be close to each other, or so her mother said when she was younger. What drifted them apart? She had learned the hard way just how important family was...

Her aunt slid a hand into Chigusa's. "Are you fine, dear?"

The teenager was surprised. Was her state of mind obvious? "I'm... fine. This whole mess has been hard to deal with. I'm just glad that I saw my neighbour passing by when he did."

The older woman agreed. "Well, yes, but that's not what I meant. How have you been before that? It's been only a short time still since your parents-"

"Oh, look! It's him, my neighbour!" Chigusa interrupted her aunt abruptly, conscious of her impoliteness. She didn't want to go down that road, not with them. Her aunt and uncle meant well, but they shouldn't see her weaknesses. She could live alone, without anyone's help. She had to.

The girl opened the front door and waved at the man. She noticed for the first time how he seemed preoccupied, but she was there in front of him, and it was too late to back off now. "Hi, Tomonari! Do you have a minute? I'd like to present you my family!" She exclaimed, just a little too overjoyed to sound natural. Tomonari immediately put on a smile less contagious than she was used to see. "Of course." Something was off, she saw, but he followed her inside and extended his hand to her relatives, very formal. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Ms. Kusaka. You have a delightful daughter. You must be proud."

Her uncle looked pleased by the boy's firm handshake. "Chigusa's only our niece, but her father was one hell of a man. It's no surprised that she turned so well!"

Now Chigusa regretted her rash decision. She had forgotten how talkative her uncle got with strangers, and he wasn't very delicate either. Her aunt frowned at her husband. "Honey, please. Don't embarrass the poor girl." She took the hand that Tomonari offered and shook it lightly. "Thank you for helping her last week. It's good to know that she's surrounded with good people here."

"Except for that landlord. He answered all our questions when he made us visit the apartment, compared to now!" added, looking at the visitor for his opinion.

"Yeah, he likes his money, that's for sure." The young man crossed his arms. "Let me guess; he didn't pay for that couch, right?"

That question alone fired Chigusa's uncle again, and she watched, along with her aunt, the two men reduce the landlord. The teenager bit her lip anxiously. She didn't know if she had bothered Tomonari or how to get him out of this situation. Her uncle could go on and on sometimes until her ears fell off. What if he thought her annoying and regretted coming to her rescueafterwards? He was the only person around here who talked to her without having to. Who would she turn to if he became a stranger once again? She'd end up all alone again...

"Chigusa, dear?"

Wherever she'd go, no one to talk to. No one who'd want anything to do with her.

"Are you feeling well?" Her aunt shook her shoulder, looking for a reaction. Immediately, Chigusa snapped out of her thoughts and looked around. The uncomfortable silence in the apartment struck her. Her relatives and her neighbour looked at her strangely, with no idea of what was going on in her head. Her cheeks went on fire as she stammered an apology. "I'm, I'm fine, really! I was just... Thinking too much, you know!"

The silence persisted; the apology fell onto deaf ears. She didn't understand why they were staring at her like that, like she did something wrong. She was fine, completely fine! There was no trace of sadness in her face, no signs of the guilt trip she's been giving herself ever since her parents passed away, no apparent reasons to think that she couldn't stand the loneliness, nothing!

A noise brought them back to reality. The young man pushed his chair and stood up. "I'm sorry to break it off, but I don't want to make my date wait for me. She'd have my head if I did!"

Mr. Kusaka laughed out loud, extending his hand towards the guest. "Yeah, women aren't exactly patient! Good luck, kid."

Tomonari waved them goodbye and left quickly. As soon as he closed the door, Chigusa's uncle rose from his chair, looking pleased. "I feel much better about you living alone with him next door. You never know what kind of neighbour you get."

The girl slowly nodded. "Yes. I'm glad..." She said half-heartedly. Her mind began picturing just what this 'date' looked like. She was probably older than Chigusa, who still stagnated at the teenager stage, despite her maturity. A knock on the door, however, interrupted both her thoughts and the conversation and all three turned toward the door. She stood up and opened the door to the person. As soon as she saw him, she resisted the urge of slamming the door shut. She has seen the man only once, but had made quite an impression on her mind. Trouble was brewing over her, she just knew it.

"H-hello, Mr. Otori. Please come in..." she managed to say. Her uncle eyed the man, and she just knew that her day was far from over. He would make sure remembered to treat nicely from here on.

Oh dear.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The sun dove into the clouds, showering the sky of magnificent colours that caught Chigusa's attention. She pulled on the towel around her hair, releasing the cascade of light brown hair on her back and placed it on one of the chairs to dry, before heading outside to lean on the fence. The chilly breeze made her shiver, but she ignored it. The effect of a warm shower still nullified anything negative right now. Never has she been so grateful for having a shower in the bathroom, something she had taken as granted before.

Her uncle indeed followed the man hot on the heels everywhere. Not only the holes in her bathroom had been repaired, but the salesman managed to make the landlord cough up some money for the cost of the futon that, by the way, didn't cost a penny to her uncle. She felt bad as handed the bill, but her aunt only winked at her. Needless to say that her uncle was pretty proud on the little trick he played.

Afterwards, they all left and she was left alone, once again. The silence in the apart bothered her a lot, and she watched her relatives' car disappear at the end of the street with a hint of sadness. Her daily routine was catching up to her now, although she was reluctant to follow it. In a small attempt to break it, she decided to take her shower right away and do her homework after, instead of the opposite. And now, she escaped to the balcony, pushing away the moment she'd have to go back inside and open her textbooks.

It was the first time that she watched the sunset from the balcony. It soothed her worries for a while, but they still nagged her.

Things couldn't go on like this for much longer. Chigusa recognised the signs of a breakdown all too familiar: the loneliness and the constant questions in her head that reflected her lack of confidence. Alone in her room after her father grounded her for failing to be a good daughter, she used to wish that she could get away from her family and her classmates, never to see them again. Such a childish wish thrown out there without too much thought. Yes, she had been very unhappy last year, so much that she had considered suicide, but she never really expected her wish to become real and now, she regretted it.

After the Moontree incident, Haseo showed her that she couldn't keep crying in self pity. He would be furious to see her now, back in her old state. Then, a question on a whole different topic popped up. _I wonder if Tomonari is having fun on his date... No! No, no no!_ Chigusa shut her eyes. There she went again, thinking about her flirty neighbour when she should be searching for a solution to her problems.

Her lips twitched upward at the choice of word. Flirty, she suspected him to be. She hasn't caught on when he kept calling her by her new nickname, 'beautiful' or when he beamed a smiled at her, but when she heard him say that he had a date, she developed a doubt. Why would he treat her this way, if he was going out with someone else? A part inside her protested. Maybe he acted this way with everyone else. Maybe he wasn't flirty, just charming. That could work as an explanation.

It would be nicer if Tomonari was really flirty, though, because that would mean that he found her cute enough, and that'd make her very happy. She never thought a guy would be interested in her, to start with. His attention was flattering, to say the least.

"That doesn't mean that he likes me..." Chigusa muttered, her chin resting against her arms. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and she looked toward the stairs, further away. Speaking of the wolf...

"Hey, beautiful. Whacha' doin'?" He called out. Her heart squeezed inside her chest at the sound of his voice. It looked so much like her friend Kuhn's that it was striking. Strangely, she only noticed it when he helped her out the other day, but refrained from blurting out her friend's name. She had made the same mistake a few months ago. At the time, Chigusa was eating lunch in a corner while reading a book. A bunch of guys sat close from her and she gasped when they began chatting. She had thought for sure that Silabus was next to her, and she turned towards the boy and asked them if one of them was Silabus. They laughed out loud, making feel ashamed. There was no way that the Canard member was a guy like them; he would never act this way. Besides, it's not unusual that online players use the voice modifying option. There was no way to know.

"Hi. I was just watching the sun." He finally joined her and mimicked her posture. The proximity between the two made her blush and she concentrated on the sky instead, hoping he wouldn't notice. "The sunset is so beautiful from up here. I couldn't see it at all at my home, before..." she stopped her sentence. Home, that was a long time ago.

Tomonari glanced at her. Her eyes gazed at the clouds, but he had the feeling that she was looking much farther. What said earlier bothered him. He was surprised to hear that they weren't her parents. If that was the case, then where were her real parents?

Uncomfortable, he continued the conversation. "I've seen great sunsets ever since I live here, but nothing beats the scenery from The World."

Chigusa reacted to the name quickly. "You play The World?!" The excitement in her voice made him grin. "Yeah. I love online games. I've been playing The World since R:1 and never stopped. Man, I loved R:1. Mac Anu wasn't as big as now, but I guess I grew attached to the place."

Chigusa changed her position to face Tomonari, clearly interested. "I only began playing a little more than a year ago. I didn't know Mac Anu existed in the first version of the game."

"Yeah, it did. In both games, they serve as the beginner's city. They also have the same designs, too. The bridge was way shorter and the shops weren't scattered all over the city. At the same time, I was really amazed when I discovered the new city. I thought it was huge at first and now, I don't even notice it anymore." He chuckled at the memory. "There was a period I couldn't play, though, and the guy I was set on being better than levelled a lot. I never did join him, in the end."

Chigusa's head inclined to the right. "Did something happen?"

Tomonari sighed. "You could say that. While playing the game, I lost-". _**Opps.**_ "I mean, I... My parents grounded me and took away the game for a few months." He almost made the mistake of telling Chigusa about the time he became trapped within the game. He still remembered all, although it never scared him enough to ban video games completely. However, not a lot of people knew about that and he didn't want to alarm the young girl next to him. "So, do you play often?"

This time, it was her turn to hesitate. "I used to play... I don't have a computer here, though, and I haven't found an Internet cafe at all since I moved..." She didn't want to tell him to ask question about her past. Fortunately, he didn't seem interested at all.

"Really? Would you like to play with me inside? I have two sets of goggles. Better yet, I'm inviting over for supper. I ordered a pizza at the restaurant across the street and it should be ready by now."

Chigusa couldn't believe her luck. Not only her neighbour played The World, but he offered her to play! She could finally connect with her friends once again and let them know she was alright! She had the urge to start jumping around, but stopped herself. She didn't want him to feel forced to let her play because she mentioned that she hasn't played the game since a long time... She gulped, hoping that he wouldn't mind. "Are you sure? I don't want to bother you..." She asked, trying to sound sorry for intruding.

Tomonari grinned. "No way. Besides, I need someone else to finish that pizza. I was supposed to eat my pizza with my date, but... Well, she dumped me, eh eh."

To avoid any further question, Tomonari fished out his door key of his pocket and unlock the door. "Please come in into my humble home." He bowed to the teenager, managing to make her laugh.

His apart looked pretty much like hers, Chigusa noted, down to the furniture. He closed the door behind them and placed his hand on her arm. "Come on, I'll show you my bedroom. My computer is stationed there."

"Y-your bedroom?" She asked meekly.

He flashed a devil smile at her, taking pleasure at making her blush. "Yeah. We can eat the pizza on the bed together. You'll see it's really comfortable." That last comment had done it. Her cheeks were set on fire. "Why are you blushing?" he added innocently.

"No reason!"

He opened the door and let her inside, before heading to the computer and turning it on. She stood in the room quietly, unsure of what to do. "Well, make yourself at home. How about you log into the game first while I go down to get the pizza?" She nodded and walked to the only chair in the room, still very shy about the whole thing.

As he was about to leave the room, he turned one last time. He caught Chigusa staring at his back and she quickly looked away, guilty. "Don't you worry my princess. You won't have to long for me much more!" And with that, he ran away from the room. He only heard her shout 'My name is Chigusa!' before heading out, humming. If he couldn't get his date to stay, maybe he'd be lucky with his neighbour.

Meanwhile, Chigusa pressed her hands against her cheeks, blushing madly. Tomonari was definitely flirty! She didn't know what to think of him at all. Did he have afterthoughts when he invited her inside? His comments suggested it, but she couldn't imagine the man forcing her to do something that she didn't want to... or did want.

For once, however, she focused on the most important thing: the computer. She finally had a occasion to make contact with Haseo and the others, and she wasn't going to let it slip between her fingers! Maybe it was Tomonari's comments or the excitement of finally talking to her friends, but Chigusa couldn't stay in place anymore. Her heart beat frenetically in her chest while her throat tightened.

Finally, the computer seemed ready to start working. The desk was filled with small icons, but the only one that mattered was divided from the rest, alone in a corner. She double clicked it, and while the game launched, she installed the headset. She didn't know the model, but it was light, unlike her old ones. On the screen, a window popped and she typed in her information immediately, the stress growing and growing.

The familiar wallpaper appeared with the icons waited at the bottom of her page. She moved the mouse to her message and jumped on her chair. _Ninety eight messages!_Many of them came from her friends, but one name kept showing up. _Haseo... you, you didn't abandon me!_She thought, touched. Her biggest fear was that they would all give up on her after a while, but it had obviously has not been the case. She quickly surveyed the rest. Pi and Kuhn had sent some too, with titles that said a lot about their worry. The most recent one was from sent by Kuhn around a hour ago and she peeked into it.

Sender: Kuhn

Object: Please answer us.

Hey. I see you still haven't log on today. I wish we had a clue where you are now, just a small one. We can't even call the police. I don't where you disappeared, but I'm certain that you didn't give up on the game, like Yata suggested. You love The World, Atoli! If you read this, please answer us. Haseo, Pi, Silabus and Gaspard, we all miss you. Me too.

* * *

Chigusa wiped a tear. They had no idea how much she missed them too! She clicked on reply.

Sender: Atoli

Object: I'M FINE!!! I'm so sorry! Thank you!

* * *

She sent the message right away, too stressed to think straight. As she was about send a new message to Kuhn, she noticed the previous message, this time from Haseo. The moment she saw his name, she decided. Chigusa threw a quick glance behind her. Tomonari hasn't gone back yet. She began a new message and addressed to Haseo.

Sender: Atoli

Object: I'm okay!

I'm sorry, so sorry Haseo! I didn't mean to scare anyone but... some things happened and I had to leave my house, and I don't have a computer now. I didn't find a way to contact you before. I don't what to do, I miss you so much!

I'm using someone else's computer right now. He said he'll let me play with him, so I'll be online tonight!"

* * *

There. She sent the message. At the same moment, Tomonari came home with someone smelling delicious. He pushed the door and dumped the pizza on the bed, grinning like an idiot. "Well, hop on the bed, princess. Supper's ready!"

Chigusa imitated him and they sat on the double-sized bed together. "I thought you were only going to call me beautiful."

Tomonari opened the box and hummed the food, before turning toward the teenager. "Beautiful and princess go together, don't they? In fact, I'd say you're also splendid, amazing, refined and an eye candy. You must be tasty."

"Oh, you're saying too much. I'm not..." she protested. He didn't sound like much of a gentleman, now, and she wondered if she really should've accepted his invitation. A weird sound broke the awkward moment and they both turned their head toward the vibrating pocket of Tomonari's coat hanged behind the door. He groaned, but still got up and answered. "Sorry beautiful, it won't take long.

Chigusa looked toward the computer quickly, while Tomonari went into the kitchen, probably to be somewhere more private. She took the advantage to open a new message for Haseo, but before she had time to write something down, her neighbour came back and looked not too happy. "I'm sorry. My boss needs help at work, so I got to leave for the evening."

She held her breath. "Oh..."

"Yeah, I was looking forward tonight too. I promise that we'll get another evening together and I'll turn my cell phone off this time." He said apologetically. "Hey, can you shut the computer? I have to get changed before leaving."

She nodded and he left the room with a set of clothes. When she heard him shut the door, she turned to the screen and began typing frantically.

Sender: Atoli

Object: Problem

Something came up and I have to leave. I don't know when I'll be able to log on. Please call this number. X XXX XXXX (1) anytime, day or night. I absolutely need to talk to someone. I... I can't do this alone.

* * *

Her email sounded desperate, just what she was. Otherwise, she wouldn't have left her cell phone number in a message. She didn't know if Haseo wanted to speak with her real self, or if he just cared for Atoli. All there was left was to hope.

She shut the computer down, like Tomonari asked. As she was about to leave the room, she saw the hot, fuming pizza forgotten on the bed. Carefully, she closed the box and brought it into the kitchen.

The man came out at the same moment, wearing black pants and a red T-Shirt with a logo she never saw before. "Oh, the pizza, I forgot. Uh, just take it to your place and eat it." He said as he grabbed keys on the table. Chigusa protested vigorously at his idea. "I can't do that! You're the one who paid it!"

He grabbed the box in one hand, took Chigusa's hand with the other and led her outside. "Beautiful, please take it as a gift for ruining our evening together." To her surprise, he brought the hand that he still held to his lips and kissed her palm. "I wish I could've spent the night gazing at your beauty. Alas, I'm needed elsewhere. Good night, princess."

And with that, he left her behind, turning once to wave goodbye before he disappeared down the stairs. _He sure likes to woo girls..._ Somehow, she wasn't too sad that it ended this way. God knows how it could have ended. The girl made a few steps and went back in her apart. Her eyes fell on her cell phone waiting quietly in the middle of the table, still in the same position as she abandoned it earlier. She flipped it open. As expected, no one had called during her absence.

_Please call me, Haseo. _

After a minute of staring at the small screen, it became obvious that it wasn't going to help. The pizza smelled horrifyingly good and Chigusa looked at it, tempted. _I might as well eat some, since Tomonari gave it to me... _

She only cut a small slice and put the leftovers in the fridge, though she doubted that she was going to eat it soon. Home cooked dishes just tasted better. She chewed on the tasty cheese, forcing the food to go down her stomach.

Then she put the dishes in the sink and washed them while she kept an eye on her cell phone still very inanimate. After that, she grabbed her dirty clothes and headed in the common laundry room. Once she got there, she separated pale and dark clothes and started the machines, cell phone in her school bag. She took it out, and sighed. The next two hours were incredibly long. She couldn't concentrate well on her Japanese homework; even it was her favourite subject. She kept flipping the cell open, but no one called.

_Haseo is usually logged on at this hour. Maybe he didn't want to talk to me... _

When her clothes were clean and dry, she folded them and headed back. The clock indicated 10 o'clock.

She sat on the couch and turned the television, but she didn't like any of the shows playing and she ended turning it off, leaving her alone in the silence. "Well, I bet Haseo just isn't home today. I'll go to bed then..." Her own voice didn't convince her, but she didn't have anything else to do.

She changed into her pyjama, taking her time. After brushing her teeth for five minutes, she finally got into bed. She stared at the small objects that represented her only hope. So close, Haseo was so close. Why didn't he call?

Chigusa placed the cell next to her pillow. She did write that he could call anytime, after all. Only when she rested her head against the pillow did she realise how exhausted she was.

_I can't fall asleep right now... what if he calls... _

It was too late.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_Atoli kneeled down in front of the small grunty and opened her arms. Melo Grunty's eyes became teary and he jumped on Atoli, wailing against her chest. "Waaaaah, Atoli, I missed you so much!" _

_The Harvest Cleric hugged the animal, rubbing his back with affection. "It's fine now, everything's fine. I'm back now." _

_She gasped as a hand pressed her shoulder. She turned around, only to bump into Haseo. Melo Grunty fell on the ground, holding its hat. "Geez, be more careful..." The boy groaned. Atoli couldn't believe it! "H-H-Haseo! I'm here now!" _

_The silver haired boy got up on his feet and extended his arm toward her. "I know, idiot." He pulled her back on her feet and for the first, she saw that they weren't alone in the room. Behind Haseo, many members of Moon Tree waved at her. Melo Grunty ran toward Zelkova and took the pig in his arms, smiling childishly. Kaede nodded toward her, while Matsu put both hands on his hips, looking as cocky as usual. _

"_Are you forgetting us?" _

_She twirled around at the sound of the voice and found Kuhn, winking at her. "Of course not!" _

_Pi had her arms crossed, but looked very happy. "Glad to see you, young lady." _

_Silabus and Gaspard kept bouncing in place, along with Bo. Saku and Endrance were, and even Yata. _

_She couldn't how many people were worried about her. She would never scare them like that again. "Everyone, I'm back!" _

"I'm back..." Chigusa murmured in her sleep. All of a sudden, a loud ringing woke her up from the nicest dream she had since weeks. Confused, she searched from the faulty object until her hand found something vibrating. What was tha...

"Oh!" She looked at the cell. The screen showed that someone was calling. Her fingers trying to push the right button, but she was so sleepy that she smashed half of them before she managed to press the right. Immediately, she put the cell to her ear. " Hello?! Hello?!?" She said, panicked.

She breathed hard into the cell, waiting for the person at the other end of the line to say a word. At first, she couldn't hear anything until she noticed someone was breathing. "Is... Is everything alright?" She finally asked, wondering if she didn't dream the whole thing after all.

"Atoli? Is that you?"

She would have recognised that voice anywhere. "Ha... Haseo? It's, it's me, Atoli!"

The boy sighed. "Atoli, I... Do you know how much you made us all worry?! I thought I had lost you..."

It felt so strange to hear his voice over the phone, but it was so reassuring. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I, my parents, t-they died and I couldn't... I couldn't log in anymore. Sorry, sorry..." She couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Atoli, are you okay? Where are you?!" If she wasn't already sobbing, she would cry just hearing the worry in his voice. "I-I-I'm in my apart. I'm alone, Haseo! I want to see everyone..."

Even though she was crying her heart out, Chigusa knew it would be alright now. Haseo's hand finally reached her and he pulled her back on her feet.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

(1) I have no idea how many numbers Japanese phone numbers have. No idea.

Oh man, it's 4am! I can't believe I'm still up! What a nice ending to this chapter. The dream wasn't planned at all. Is Kuhn too flirty? I like how he acts toward cute girls in the game, but he has such corny pick up lines that I just couldn't write them down.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi. To those who reads this story (if you don't, then... you won't read this, so... yeah. Nevermind), you'll notice that this chapter is the same as the last. After reading the reviews, I decided that the ending was inappropriate and didn't help moving the story forward, thus it has been slightly changed. Slightly. I also correct some mistakes, with the help of a reviewer, Ganheim. Thank you so much for pointing them out. I didn't follow all of your suggestion and I only did it with chapter five, but it helped me a lot. Considering I want to go into translation at the university, I need to get better at English.

Well, enjoy the new ending. If I'm not too lazy, I'll work on chapter six tomorrow ^^;

Flirty Neighbour

Chapter 5

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Alright, calm down!" The boy ordered Chigusa. In another occasion, he would've been annoyed to hear her react this way, but he knew better than to scream at her. The only information he managed to get from her worried him. He could hear the girl at the phone trying to gain control, but whenever she would seem to calm down, the sobs came back. "Okay, okay. Breathe. It's fine now."

Sitting in the bed, Chigusa brought her legs closer and rocked her body, concentrating on Haseo's words. _It's fine, it's fine, everything's over_, she repeated to herself. "You know..." She paused to take another deep breath. "You really have the same voice..."

There was a small silence, followed by a snort. "Did you think I use those stupid voice modifiers? I play the game for the challenge, not to sweet talk girls like Kuhn does."

Chigusa giggled, finally feeling better. "Do you think he uses one?"

"You never know what a player is like behind a character. For all we know, he might be a forty years old virgin." The comment made her laugh out loud. "Haseo!"

The boy chuckled. "I'm kidding." Then the silence came again. Chigusa apprehended the moment. It was one thing to tell small details of her life in an email, it was another over the phone, especially things like her parents' tragic demise. Deep inside, she feared the he regretted crossing the barrier between online games and reality. Fortunately, the adept rogue broke the ice. "You said that your parents died. Did you... um, murder them?"

Chigusa's eyes widened. "What?"

Haseo groaned in embarrassment. "I said-"

"No! No, I'm sorry. I heard you. It... It just surprised me." _I wished their death, I might as well have_, she noted sadly.

"What did you do, then?" her friend asked in annoyance. "How come you couldn't contact us? We... the others were worried sick... oh, the hell with it. Me too."

Maybe she should've explained a bit better in her email instead of rushing it. "It's... complicated." She trailed off, still trying to find a way to explain everything.

"It's two in the morning. Ya might as well start now." She winced as she glanced at her alarm clock. She had one last day of school tomorrow before the weekend, but since Haseo's call sent her into tears, you could say that she was really awake now and certainly not going back to sleep anytime soon.

"Well..." She leaned against the wall and brought the sheets close to her. "The night we fought Cubia, my parents were out... My father drank too much and got into a car accident that killed them both..."

She swallowed with difficulty, ignoring the lump forming in her throat. "Time went by so fast, after that. My uncle took me in, but he lives in Kanazawa and he sold the house. He found me an apart, but I don't have a computer here and I don't know the city very well so I haven't found an internet cafe either."

"Whoa, that's a lot of things to take in. How have you been holding up until now?"

"F-fine! I'm stronger than I look, even without you!" Chigusa replied, faking being offended. The silver haired player didn't need to know how difficult things have been for her. He had showed her, in the past, to stand up and keep walking forward, like he did for Shino. How could she expect forgiveness from her parents if she abandoned the game? She wished for them to disappear. Now it was time to face the consequences.

"Idiot. No one expects you to get better all alone. We're all here for you, you know that."

The affirmation touched her heart and Chigusa shut her eyes to stop the tears from coming again. She had forgotten, until now, that she had friends to help on. Sure, they were all online gamers, but their friendship was true nonetheless, unlike the ones she had in school. "Y-yes!"

"You haven't found a single internet cafe in the area? Aren't they like at every block?"

"Really?" she asked, surprised. "I haven't found one while walking to school and the grocery. There weren't a lot either in the Chiba prefecture."

In the background, she heard him typing on a keyboard. "It's probably only like that here..." Haseo answered. "Where did you say you live?"

"In Kanazawa. Why?" She asked innocently.

"I'm looking for a place available... damn, that website is lame. Are you doing something this weekend?"He asked.

"N-not really. You do know that I can't connect, right?" she asked, worried. Unless Haseo was looking for an internet cafe nearby for her, she couldn't guess what he was doing. If he could find a place, though, she'd be the happiest girl in all Japan.

"Yeah, I know. You said it earlier. That's why I'll come to your place instead. There has to be a cafe somewhere. I just have to find a hotel and book a room..."

The room went silent for a short moment, except for the sound of the keyboard over the phone, before Chigusa burst. "WHAT?"

"Damn, would you turn it down? My ear's going to fall off!"

"A-a-a-a-are you serious? Do you live in Kanazawa too?" Chigusa lowered her voice, but couldn't stop the excitement. She didn't know what think about Haseo's player coming to meet her, or about him living close.

"No, I live in Tokyo." It took a moment for the news to sink in. She used to go to Tokyo a few times each year because of the short distance between the Chiba prefecture and the huge city, but now... "But Haseo... Kanazawa is completely in the west. You can't travel all the way up here just to-"

"Shut up! Like I care how far it is. I'm not going to leave you alone. Not anymore..." Haseo's voice became softer and he did not add anything after that. Chigusa didn't protest anymore; once the adept rogue made up his mind, there was no use trying to stop him, and maybe, deep down, his decision made her happy. Perhaps their friendship has taken a step further.

Another curse broke her trail of thoughts. "Haseo?"

"What?" The boy snapped. Chigusa bit her lower lip. "Sorry. I didn't mean to..."

Haseo sighed in the phone. "It's not you. I'm cranky, I guess." He answered awkwardly. "It's hard to find a good hotel."

"You know... You could use the futon in my living room, if you want. This is the least I can do for the trouble of coming all over here in Kanazawa." She could hear him hesitate over the phone. Didn't he want to? Maybe he just preferred to have his own space. Nervously, words came out of her mouth. "I cook pretty well. Just ask me anything and I'll do it! Hehe..."

"Really? Then I want chocolate chips waffles both mornings then, and not those cheap ones from the grocers."

She gasped. "Uh, I... If that's what you want, I'll find a way to do it, even though I don't have the machine..."

She heard him laugh quietly. "You idiot. I'll come even if you don't do it. Alright, what's your address?"

After she has given him the information, he explained that he'd be there late in the evening and she promised to keep a warm meal for him. By the time she hung up, it was already 3 am. She buried her face in the pillow. Things were very hectic today, to say the least. She'd have to thank her neighbour for this turn of events. However, before she could think of what she would tell him, her eyes closed definitely, putting an end to this long day.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Barely past four hours later, the alarm clock interrupted her slumber. Chigusa glared at the object accusingly and for a slight moment, she envisioned herself throwing it across the room. Of course, she just sat up in her bed and turned it off. It was only doing its job, she resigned.

It took a long hour before Chigusa finally began feeling the dreaded stress of last night news. She spent the day lost in her thoughts, barely listening to the teachers' monotone explanations. They never looked her way, besides, and neither did the students. Any other day, she would be upset about it, but her mind was elsewhere.

She didn't know what she would tell him. What was else there to say? She lost her parents and moved away. Her daily life would bore him. She hasn't done anything interesting ever since she came in Kanazawa. Besides, Chigusa couldn't even imagine making conversation with him. It had been rather easy over the phone, but her feelings for him began to resurface ever since. She had almost forgotten how his voice sometimes sent butterflies in her stomach and make her blush behind her M2D, and that happened in an online game! What will happen when they will meet face to face?

Her feelings shamed her. Ever since she first met him, she wanted to prove herself to him. He attracted her, like a bee to a flower and yet, she felt foolish about it. His character amazed her, to start with. His white, unruly hair and his bloody eyes expressed defiance, while his black leathered clothes made him look like a bad boy.

She blushed furiously, hiding her face in her hands. No one paid her attention.

She couldn't think this kind of thing about him; it was incredibly wrong. The World's just an online game, for crying out loud! His appearance shouldn't have any importance, anyway. What is important is the person inside the body, the personality, and for that, she knew that she did like him. His strength of character and determination made him different of others. He would do anything for his friends, no matter what, and remained faithful to his beliefs: a true leader.

She worshipped Haseo for all he's done for her, but told herself that she didn't have a crush on him. Even if he did return her feelings, would they be able to stand each other for a long time? He liked to fight and took challenges head on, while she tried to ease the hot heads in the group and preached for peace. He wasn't inclined togood manners either.

She smiled. Oh well, it didn't matter. It would never take away all the admiration she had for the adept rogue.

The day dragged on slowly, leaving her plenty of time to ponder her feelings, but the classes finally reached an end and Chigusa left the classroom, the stress devouring her insides. Even though Haseo wouldn't arrive for a long time, she hurried home, just in case he...

However, she found no one in front of her doorstep. Her eyes lingered on the landscape before they fell on her neighbour's door. She owed this man so much. If it wasn't for him, she would have never reached Haseo and she would still be alone.

In fact, he has done much more than that. He's been there since the first day since she arrived here, by making her smile and laugh. Chigusa suddenly walked to his door and knocked, determined to share her gratitude towards him, but after knocking twice and still not receiving an answer, she abandoned, disappointed, and headed inside her own place. What a strange neighbour she had gotten. He even managed to make her feel special; even if he probably said the same things to every girl he flirted with. He reminded her of Kuhn, once again. That player could run away from you after spotting a girl, but he was always at your side when it counted.

They both made her feel the way she did toward Haseo. All three of them were unexpectedly nice.

The girl gasped. No, no, no, no. Haseo had nothing to do with her neighbour or Kuhn. Pi warned her to stay away from that kind of man, however, and it puzzled her. Was it fine to let him flirt with her or should she tell him that she wasn't interested to be one of his many conquests? He has done so much for her...

Glancing at the clock, she pushed her thoughts away. She had to prepare dinner and it needed a lot of preparation.

After an hour and a half, the small apart smelled extremely nice, and Chigusa took the meal out of the oven. She decided to do her homework right away, so she could eat with Haseo.

At seven, she let out a sigh. He hadn't texted her or anything and the last meal she had was far away. Reluctantly, she returned to her textbook.

At eight, her stomach growled, again. Her homework was since long finished. Chigusa served herself, unable to wait anymore. She had to re-heat the food.

At nine, she was laying comfortably against the futon, watching the Friday night shows. The lack of sleep was catching up with her and as much as she fought against it, her body protested the bad treatment. She groped in her bag for her cell phone, and placed the alarm for ten. If Haseo were to arrive in the next hour, which she was hoping he would, then she'd hear it from the living room. Cell phone in hand, she let her eyes rest and immediately fell asleep.

10:47, the cell phone long since rang annoyingly and she didn't move an inch at all since then. She wondered if it was such a good idea, in the end. She almost never brought friends home in the past, even less boys. She had, once, three years ago. The boy approached her at school. He liked animals too, and she was thrilled that someone like him talked to her. Her father didn't see it the same way, though. He yelled at them so much that the student never spoke to her ever again. It was improper to invite boys back home, her father said. Only sluts did such dirty things. She made him extremely ashamed. How could his only child act like that?

_I'm so glad that they're n-_

Chigusa closed her eyes. No. No, no, no, no. She has been unhappy for a long time, but her parents brought her to this world, fed her and made sure she had everything.

_Except love. _

_What a terrible person she is._

Knock-Knock.

Chigusa's eyes flew wide open. She remained still a few seconds, before sitting up. Another knock convinced her to get up. Finally, he was here. She had to stop thinking about her family for the weekend. She couldn't let Haseo see her weak.

Hesitantly, she placed her hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it, before opening the door.

On the other side, she saw a hunk.

Well, to be more precise, it was a teenager, a male and handsome one. He was much taller than her, and his light brown, unruly hair made her envious. His clothes looked cleaned and she recognized a logo on his coat that she always knew she couldn't afford. He had a nonchalant posture, his bag carelessly hanging over his shoulder, and one hand in his pocket, but the moment he saw the person inside, he straightened.

Both of them were at loss of what to say. Chigusa cursed herself for her stupidity, but didn't know what to do. In truth, she hasn't spent much time thinking about what Haseo looked like in real life. She hasn't even bothered to ask for his real name over the phone, although neither did he. She half-expected to see the character Haseo at her door, but this boy made her realise her mistake. However, he wasn't too far off from the player either. His hairstyle looked alike, as well as the lean, yet muscular body. She couldn't believe that she'd spend the weekend with such a good looking boy.

"Um, you're Atoli, right?"

His voice quickly eliminated any doubt in her mind. "Y-yes! Welcome here!" She exclaimed, a little too loudly to her liking. She stepped back to let him inside and he complied. In the middle of her small, old fashioned kitchenette, the boy looked out of place_**.**_ He threw a quick look at the place, but made no face whatsoever, relieving Chigusa.

"So... how was your trip?" Chigusa asked, polite as ever. She fiddled with the apron that she had forgotten to take off.

Haseo slipped his bag off his shoulder and let it hit the ground with a thick sound. "A pain. They didn't even change the schedule on the internet, so I got to the bus station too late. The next time, I'll come with my new car. It'll be easier."

The girl nodded, but didn't add anything. What could she say? That she was impressed that he possessed a car? Ask him what kind it is? That would be pointless. She didn't know anything about them. Besides, what if he had an old one? She would hurt his feelings without realising it. Instead, she stepped back from him a little, hoping to escape Haseo's staring. Did he regret coming already? Her physical appearance so far away from her character disappointed him, perhaps. Really, there weren't a lot of blonds in Japan and her form wasn't as petite as Atoli...

_Enough! Do something!_ "Um, are you hungry? I made you a meal..."

The teenager looked puzzled, but shrugged and pulled a chair. "Yeah. I didn't eat anything on my way here." Chigusa turned her back from him to heat his plate. When it was done, she gave it to him and leaned back against the counter, hugging her body. Haseo immediately dug in the food. Halfway, he looked up at his host, frowning. "What are you doing so far? Sit down here." He ordered, pointing the chair next to his. "I won't eat you."

The girl blushed furiously, turning her eyes away from him. "It's-It's fine! I'm just waiting for you to finish so I can do the dishes."

"Forget about that. We'll do it tomorrow." He replied nonchalantly. Chigusa looked down, refusing to look at him. "I'd like to do them tonight. It wouldn't be proper to let them in the sink."

"Who cares if it's proper or not? I don't know why you're acting embarrassed toward me. It's the same as in The World."

Chigusa clenched her teeth. She hated that he saw through her so easily. "No it's not." She countered. "Things are completely different, since we aren't in a virtual reality. You don't have the same name to begin with."

"So what? I still kick ass everywhere I go."

Her eyes searched for his and for a moment, she was certain that the silver haired adept rogue was standing in front of her before the image switched to the boy. Unable to resist, Chigusa burst out laughing. "I guess you really are the same." She admitted after calming down. Having lost the argument, Chigusa sat down next to her guest. "Did all the fame at the arena go to your head?"

He put on his traditional smirk. "The arena? There's nothing great about beating a bunch of brainless sissies. If anything, it got to yours. Remember the first match you won?"

Chigusa smiled at the memory. "It felt good to finally win at something, although the other team had to abandon the competition..."

Haseo rolled his eyes. "You never change. It's eat or be eaten out there."

"I guess..." she trailed, her gaze lingering on her kitchen, away from the boy. Yet another awkward moment passed before Haseo noticed his mistake. "Hey, it's fine if you think that way." He admitted gruffly. "That's how I like you."

"Huh?" her heard shot up.

Haseo coughed, food stuck in his throat while he blushed in embarrassment. "I mean *cough* that's how we like you! *cough* Sil-Silabus, Gaspard and ever -*cough* everyone." His eyes watered as he kept trying to clear the airway. Atoli quickly grabbed a glass of water and handed it to him.

"Thanks." He muttered, still recovering. The incident managed to make Atoli forget about his comment, though, and she was once again in better spirits. The two of them chit chatted while Haseo finished his plate.

"Aw man, I'm full. That was amazing. "Atoli blushed in response. "That was my first time trying this dish. I'm glad that it came out right." She suppressed a yawn not very subtly. "Sorry!"

"I was actually thinking of the same thing. Wanna watch the tv on the futon?" His question surprised her, but the idea of lazing sounded good. "Um, sure." Together, they unfolded the metal frame and placed the sheets. Atoli grabbed two pillows from her bedroom, but when she came out, Haseo has disappeared.

"Um, Haseo?"

"In the bathroom!" A voice replied to the left. The door was indeed shut, light appearing at the floor. Atoli shut the light in the kitchen and sat down on the futon, making herself comfortable while keeping an appropriate stance. She didn't know what to think about her friend's presence anymore. He was undeniably attractive and that made her nervous, but his nonchalant behaviour also put her to ease. It felt like she was hanging out with an old friend, although it was the first time they met in person. "But our hearts know each other. That's why there is nothing to be afraid of." She whispered softly. Haseo was Haseo, final.

The bathroom door opened, revealing the boy in question. Atoli silently took back what she just said.

Haseo has changed into black and white boxers and a sleeveless tight shirt, revealing many forms that she would've preferred to ignore . He jumped onto the couch and sat next to Atoli, completely at ease. He turned his head. "Hey, you didn't change? You'd be more comfortable."

"I- huh, I don't think it's a good idea." She replied shyly. Maybe he would get the hint.

"Why not?" Apparently not. "Y-you're a boy, and... I'm a..." Oh now that was difficult to say. She was painfully aware of his warm body next to her and his naked, strong looking legs spread out across the couch.

Haseo only scratched his head. "What, do you sleep naked?" He received a small punch on his arm from the girl. "Absolutely not! It's just wrong! If my father knew, he..."

The remaining words died on her lips, but Haseo completed it for her. "He would yell? But it's only you and me here." He said softly, his cocky attitude forgotten. "You don't have to fear him anymore."

His words slowly worked inside her mind. She always had the feeling that her parents followed her everywhere she went, even after their death, that she had to obey them not to fail them. Yet, wasn't one of the reasons why she thought of suicide some months ago was because they imposed strict rules? She had to be a sweet, quiet girl. If she had been born twenty years earlier, her father would've probably imposed a husband on her. Now was her chance to follow her own road. No one could stop her anymore.

**Haseo's POV**

"I'll be back." Haseo looked at her friend disappear into the bedroom. From what he could tell, that girl was rather withdrawn and her the small facade of joy that she put on in front of him while playing The World attitude disappeared. It must've been difficult to lose her family. It didn't look like she had someone to talk about it either. When Shino got attacked and fell into coma, he felt distressed too. Sure, he had some friends at school, but no one particularly close to him to talk about his problems. The person who played the role of confident used to be Shino. That's why he was here now, so that Atoli had someone to talk to.

**Normal POV**

The young girl finally emerged and Haseo had to smile. She opted for a similar pyjama as him, but she hugged her body around a comforter and hesitated at the door frame, judging his reaction. He decided to push her a little. "I told you earlier, I'm not going to eat you."

As expected, she looked flustered but joined him nonetheless. "Stop making fun of me." she said, pouting.

"I can't help it, you make it so easy."

"Hmph." She grabbed the remote and began flipping through the channels, looking for something. "How about this?" The screen displayed an American movie, Spider-man, if she recalled correctly. Her parents never liked American movies, but she did. Haseo didn't protest, so she put the remote away and began listening. It looked like the movie was already halfway through.

"Tomorrow, we're going to search for an internet cafe. I brought my M2Ds with me, so we'll be able to log." Haseo said between two adds. The news excited Atoli who grinned. "Really? That would be great! I can't wait to see everyone! By the way, have you heard about Moon tree?"

The adept rogue rolled his eyes. "Figures that's the first thing you'll want to check out. I don't know much, but the guild is still running. They lost a lot of members when Sakaki lost it. Matsu also quit the game, but Zelkova and Kaede are still around. They were worried about you."

It made her happy to know that lord Zelkova thought about her. "What else? Oh, what about Shino? Sorry! I forgot to ask about her. She is your friend..." The answer scared her, but it couldn't be avoided.

"She woke up when we beat Cubia. The hospital let her out a few days later. Ovan's the only one missing now..." Atoli heard the sadness in his voice, but didn't know what to say. To be honest, she wondered what Shino and Haseo's relationship was. Could she compete against this woman? Haseo fought so hard, all for her.

But he travelled from Tokyo to Kanazawa just to see her. Surely, that meant something.

Stopping her thoughts, Haseo continued. "Things are pretty much back to normal. Now that you're safe, Pi will probably quit the game too. I told everyone that you wrote to me. They're annoying now with their message. You'll have a lot of talk to do. Especially to Kuhn."

"Kuhn?"

"Yeah." She waited for him to say more, but when it was obvious he wouldn't add anything, she sighed. "We all thought..." _Oh?_

"We all thought that you fell into a coma. Kuhn said that there couldn't be any other reason why you would abandon the game so suddenly. I couldn't believe it."

Atoli looked down. "I'm sorry... If only I thought about you guys after the fight, I could've sent you an email..."

"What are you saying? Don't be sorry for things that you can't control. Besides, we found you so it's fine. Hey, the movie's starting again." The conversation resumed there and for a while, they became absorbed into the fight. Atoli laughed whenever Haseo swore against the main character's stupidity and he would mock her when she closed her eyes in front of a scene.

The movie almost reached the end around midnight when they heard a door being shut loudly, followed by the sounds of objects crashing onto the ground. The two teenagers glanced at the window, but it was too dark to see anything. A minute later, a moan crossed the apart. Atoli hold her breath. "What's that sound?" she whispered.

"I think-" Another moan, louder and clearer this time, erupted from the other side of the wall. "-that someone's having fun. I just hope they'll turn it down."

"A-a-a-are you sure about it?" It was just her luck. She hated the cheap walls. It was so embarrassing, especially with Haseo next to her! Another moan interrupted Haseo's answer and this time, they heard someone's name. "Oh my! It's my neighbour!"

He sat down on the futon and groaned at the sounds. "That Tomonari guy, you mean? You know him well?"

"He helped me when I moved here and when I had a flood in the bathroom. He's also the one who let me use his computer last night. But you could say he's..."

Now, they could distinguish banging against a wall. Atoli's cheeks went on fire. Why did he have to do this now? Tomonari had a private life, it wasn't his fault, she argued, but why tonight?

"Man, what are they trying to do? Prove to the whole building how much fun they're having? I bet the chick's faking it. She can't be that loud."

Fighting against the urge to bury her head into the pillow, Atoli instead put the volume louder. "Let's just ignore it. It won't last long..." And so, they resumed watching the movie.

However, fifteen minutes later, the couple next door was still very active. The constant noises finally made Haseo snap. "That's it! Let's see if they like this. Atoli, get up."

Confused, she complied and rose from the futon. She watched him move the furniture away from the television to the wall separating hers and Tomonari's apart. "What are you doing?"

The boy pushed a final time before jumping back on the futon. "Come here. We'll give them a piece of what they've put us through." She didn't like where he was going with this and reluctantly sat down. "Alright" Haseo said, "eat this!" and he began banging the futon against the wall. "You too!"

If it was possible, Atoli would've lost consciousness. Anything not to go through this. "I-I-I CAN'T! Please, stop this! Tomonari's been really nice with me!"

Haseo kept doing his little exercice. "Like hell he is. People are trying to sleep here and they don't give it a damn. Com'on, help me!"

She shook her head. Once Haseo made his mind, it was too late. He seemed to take a lot of pleasure into revenges, online and offline and watching him slamming against the wall made her smile. He looked really silly, like an immature child.

"Alright, me too!" The girl acclaimed. To Haseo's surprise, she threw her whole weight against the wall, blocking with success the annoying moaning at the other side. The rogue grinned and together, they continued their childish game.

After a few minutes, however, a violent sound abruptly stopped them. The two teenagers looked out the kitchen window to see a young woman stumping toward the staircase while trying to put her shirt back on, followed by Atoli's neighbour with his pants unbuttoned. "YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU?"

"WAIT, YUKINO! I'M SORRY!"

Atoli nervously turned her attention back to Haseo, having already forgotten the fun they had just a moment ago. "I don't think she'll come back."

"Yeah. Good for us." Haseo stifled a yawn. "Do you mind leaving the bed in that position? I'll put in back to its place tomorrow."

"Okay." Her body felt wore out all of a sudden, now that the excitement was over and she didn't find the strength to drag her body to her own bed. One glance toward her guest made her change her mind. There was no way she would sleep with Haseo. It was just too... inappropriate. She prepared herself to get up when something tugged her T-shirt. She looked down to see Haseo staring at her. "Yes?"

Immediatly, he removed his hand and used it to rub his neck, looking away at the same. "There's enough place for both of us on your couch."

She was surprised by his offer. "Really?"

"Don't make me repeat myself!" He said, louder. Her legs begged for rest and despite her reticence, she agreed and lied down next to Haseo, her back facing him.

After a while, Haseo spoke up. "Do you want the pillow? Eh, Atoli?" He leaned on his elbow to look at the girl. She was sleeping soudly. "Ch. Troublesome girl."

With that, Haseo finally went to sleep.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

For those who never read the previous chapter five, basically Haseo, while banging at the wall, asked Atoli to act as if they were having sex, leading them to be into an intimate position and almost kissing, just before being interupted by the woman and Tomonari (Kuhn). I was thrilled by that idea of a scene at first, which is why I wrote it and while some people were very enthusiastic, some others thought it didn't belong to this story. I was wrong to try to create a romantic relationship between Haseo and Atoli. Sure, as a fan, I think they belong together, but it's not useful in this fic.

So until next time,

Katreda


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